Troy Buzalsky looks at 1998 as Step One in the drive to get working smoke alarms in every home in Oregon. Now, he's pushing for Step Two.

Buzalsky, a Canby Fire District division chief, is lobbying hard for a bill introduced in the Oregon Legislature that would require all smoke alarms sold in the state to come with a non-removable 10-year battery.

"If this passes, it will be the biggest thing in fire and life safety in Oregon since 1998, when they passed the first smoke alarm bill," said Buzalsky, immediate past president of the Oregon Fire Marshals Association.

"This is exactly the scenario we're going after," said Buzalsky, a 29-year fire service veteran. "Our statistics show that in half of all fatal residential fires, there was no working smoke alarm. Unfortunately, we see this all the time."

One problem, Buzalsky said, is that the 1998 smoke alarm law requires only ionization smoke alarms to have the preferred non-removable, 10-year battery and hush feature. Photoelectric smoke alarms are exempt and use batteries that must be changed periodically.

That means that firefighters are forced to wage an endless education campaign, urging the public to check for failing smoke alarm batteries twice a year and replace any that have lost their charge.

SB126 would essentially eliminate battery replacement by making all failing smoke alarms disposable -- when they turn 10 years old, you simply replace them.

As currently proposed, the bill would:

Require every battery-operated smoke alarms sold in Oregon to have a 10-year, tamper-proof battery.

Require every smoke alarms to have a "hush feature," which can be used to silence false alarms.

Require installation of smoke alarms, when a home is sold, in every sleeping room, just outside every sleeping room and on every floor. This requirement simply restates state building codes already in effect.

Require smoke alarms to be replaced when a home is sold if they are more than 10 years old or their age can't be determined.

"This bill would close a big loophole," Buzalsky said. "And that will save lives."